Lessons, insights and stories from people-centred change during a time of great upheaval

The importance of a people-centred approach to managing large-scale organisational shifts is never more critical than in a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty.

As part of O.C Tanner’s recent global Culture Trends Tour, Russell Flint, Director of Business Development for Asia Pacific at O.C. Tanner and Paul Stratford, former Global Head of Talent and Capability and Acting Chief People and Culture Officer at Newcrest Mining shared insights around managing large-scale change and uncertainty and why a people-centric approach is vital while doing so.

This came after the acquisition of Newcrest Mining by Newmont Corporation, a transaction that was completed in November 2023, when Stratford held a leadership position within the company.

See the full Q&A below.

Russell Flint: When you first became aware of the takeover bid, Paul, and considering the impact and the magnitude of a change like this, where and how did you start? And how did you ensure the change plan was people-centred and not just process-oriented?

Paul Stratford: It was a long journey. Because the first bid was played out publicly, straight away what sometimes is done behind closed doors and private negotiations, was in the media. So, our people knew about it, and we knew about it. And we needed to manage that very swiftly and in an agile way. That was in January 2023. And there were three different bids from January and over subsequent months that led to due diligence, starting in April. So, our people had a few months of uncertainty that was being talked about in publications in the media and a lot in our workplaces and locations around, “is this going to go ahead? What does this mean for us?” And so, we had a lot of time to get ready for “should this go ahead, what will be our approach?”

It was a blessing and a curse, because it meant that there was a lot of built-up ambiguity and uncertainty. We were very grateful to have some things that we’ve done previously, in terms of transparency and regular feedback from our leaders, when we were talking to our people about what was happening. And we said, “this is not a done deal until it is.” These things happen all the time in the business world. And MNA (mutual non-disclosure agreement) conversations are much more frequent than most of us realise. So, we were hoping it would go away, we were proud, and we wanted to keep going. We had a lot of great assets, great people and a great future until it went down a different path.

How did nimble resilience play out in the way your executives communicated, leaders behaved, and the organisation itself tried to keep people focused through a time of uncertainty and change?

We doubled down on safety. As you know, the cornerstone of many mining organisations' cultures is that there's nothing more important than the safety of your people. And to do that well, you need to maintain focus. You need to make sure that any distractions are outside the environment where people are trying to keep themselves and their teammates safe.

We talked a lot about respect, how we go through change, and leveraged off a major piece of work that we were still in the process of rolling out around inclusion. Our inclusive leadership program reached over 800 of our leaders and talked about self-awareness. It spoke about empathy, vulnerability and curiosity. This program served us extraordinarily well, leading into a period of prolonged change. We were already trying to have those conversations and connections with leaders and their teams around issues in the workplace – safety issues and ideas for improvement. And I think that was something that we knew was a critical part of our future culture, but it was also something that we were very glad to have been able to leverage and try and drive that nimble mindset around “what is it time for now?”

As you were going through this, how were your frontline employees and the broader organisation responding to the change?

What became apparent quickly was that Newmont was going to maintain everybody’s employment in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Canada and British Columbia – their jobs were safe. So pretty quickly, the question became “What does that population need?” and “What does this change mean for them?” It became a quick conversation in lots of ways. And we talked about the importance of recognising that not everybody was having the same experience of change.

How did you keep the group at HQ motivated amidst uncertainty? Can you share how you did that and how you and the group stayed connected to the work you were doing?

Let me just add some framing; nobody knew whether they had a role or not in the future structure, until about a month before the transaction date. We knew that the executive team would be leaving on day one. But everyone else was waiting to find out what it meant for their roles and what the design of the future state organisation was going to be with Newmont. We were all in it together.

There were people busy working on integrating planning, sharing lots of information through data rooms, trying to continue to run our business and plan for the transaction, while not knowing what it might mean for them, and their individual roles. We were all in it together. It was a change for all of us. We were all about to write the last chapter of Newcrest and we had some mantras about writing the best last chapter, and how we could go out on a high. And so, it was very interesting to create a sentiment of pride, and gratitude. Even while we’re all going through this element of being uncertain around what it might mean for us.

At the same time, we were working with Newmont, and I was the co-lead of a stream of work around culture change and communications, as we’re thinking about how we partner with the new organisation. We wanted to know how we could help them think about managing the change and transition leading to the transaction date and beyond. That was something they were leading, and we were supporting. So, we had to play different roles in different ways. But for us, our Newcrest people, it was very much around care, support and investment. And we came up with that approach quite early on. After the deal was announced, we knew that every person had the right to access care, support and investment.

In the change you’ve experienced, including both frontline and headquarters, how did empathy play out in the context of your leader group?

You know, it is exhausting carrying the load of emotional uncertainty for your team. Going through that myself as an individual and a leader, but also trying to create conditions for our leaders to do empathy well, was a big task.

It was a privilege though, because the organisation was really leaning into how important empathy was. We created that program for our leaders and HR people on the frontline of change to say, “How do we provide care for you first?” It’s that analogy of putting your own oxygen mask on before others. We needed these people to be strong, and resilient all the way through to the transaction and further. We wanted to know how we could help them with the skills, mindset and support to do that. So, we ran wellbeing programs and sessions with an organisation called “The School of Life” around resilience, adaptability and curiosity. People learnt how to lead change, how to lead yourself as a leader through change and then how to lead change with others.

Ultimately, all the way through to just before the transaction, we pivoted to learning how to get ready for a job market. Now that included the internal job market with Newmont, but also into other organisations. Simple things we did that received so much positive feedback included LinkedIn profile photos, where we brought in makeup artists, and they got their hair done. So, people felt a little bit special because of those things. We all looked a bit exhausted in those photos, but it was those small touches that made people feel a certain way.

The sentiment I got back from people was, no matter what happens, they felt like the organisation was trying to help them make the transition – whatever that might be. I think that’s a huge part of what you want an organisation to do during this kind of change.

How did you create a great last chapter for Newcrest? What were the symbolic gestures or moments of remembrance?

Yeah, that was a huge conversation. I remember talking with yourself, and Nadia, asking for advice and help as we thought about that. It’s a privilege to try and think about how to go out on a high, how to harness pride and show gratitude for everybody’s contributions. And I think there’s definitely symbols of that – both physical symbols and stories.

We were a gold company. We made gold bullion and things like that. Every member of our workforce, including a huge extension of contractors and third-party labourers, got a commemorative coin. It talks about Newcrest. It has our values on there and talks about our different workplaces. And it just simply said “thank you”.

We also made a book with the stories of our people. Think about the 80 per cent, the frontline workers. They’re the ones that are living the organisation every day, different local places, different workplaces, different relationships. The stories of those people are in that book. Every member of the business received a copy of that book. We called it “Striking Gold”. The business was around for 35 years, and there are some pictures in there from the very start of the business. There were people who left the business at the end, who were there on the very first day. So, they were there for the entire journey. The book was just something to say that the business was made up of great people, and we didn’t want to lose that. In fact, one of the symbols in writing that last chapter of Newcrest was capturing those stories and providing them to everybody.

And one last thing, we asked our people to write handwritten notes. We know how powerful a handwritten note is, and I have one from my boss who said, “Thank you, it’s been a really hard year. But it’s been easier because we’ve worked together, we’ve had some fun, we’ve had to enjoy the ups and downs of trying to navigate this change.” And it meant the world to me, that my boss would give me something, in a few simple words, that recognised my contribution.

Those were some of the gestures and moments. And we had what we initially called wake parties, where we had a last celebration of each of the different workplaces, and our executive team went around to every location. They turned into real parties. People wanted to celebrate, they wanted to kick their heels up and have fun with the people who they had gone through the trenches with. They had done hard things together and it was such a buoyant kind of sentiment. We had a great time, but there was a sense of loss and grief that we weren’t going to be together anymore. But there was joy, pride and satisfaction for what we had created, and they were lovely moments.

So, they were important. Those different ways of saying thank you, of recognising through symbols, stories and events. They are things that I think we did really well and I’m really grateful for the role I played in being part of it. Some of those pictures from the end, when we could have been downtrodden about what we were losing, were full of joy.

If you were to appraise or mark yourself on the success of that journey, how would you do that? And what were the success metrics that you'd look at?

First and foremost, the smiles at some of those last events, that otherwise could have been tears or other emotions. That’s a measure, right? Seeing people’s expressions absolutely matters. We didn’t have a spike in serious incidents, or anything like that. We maintained our focus on physical and psychological safety.

We continued with important work around Respect@Work and did some of the things that were ongoing requirements for our people across the business. Our absenteeism, and our attrition didn’t increase. People stayed. They wanted to see it through to whatever happened next, and I think they wanted to feel part of the end of the entity. In terms of change, I think when the CEO goes to our skill sessions around investment in what they do next, it role models to other leaders and gives people permission to do those things too. Those moments meant a lot, in terms of measuring success and impact.

Then it was the demand from our people for our skill sessions, or LinkedIn profile sessions and things like that. We couldn’t keep up with the demand. And you know, that only happens when there’s value and quality in what you’re putting on the table. So, we got all the way through and closed the business well. I think we wrote the best last chapter possible.

What are three or four things that you would encourage people to think about as they're managing change, and people-centred change in their own organisation?

Stratford: Look, it’s a big question and there’s so many more than three or four things. But I think it must start with the mindset and conviction of senior leaders. How do you get them on the same page on what you want to create? What’s that going to mean for your people, and the role you want them to play in setting the scene and starting to create those conditions?

I think you need to think about the diversity of your workforce. Where are they? What do they get access to? How you can access and enable the different things you want to provide. Because great ideas that no one can do - because it doesn’t suit their lives, rosters, schedules or time zones – are just great ideas left hanging out there.

I think it’s important to think about what you’re going to stop, so you can create capacity for what you’re going to start. And I think many of us look back and wonder if we’ve been good at that, rather than just having new ideas and launching something and it being on top of everything else. You need to be clear about creating a space for it.

The final thing I would say is authentic storytelling. There is nothing more powerful than the stories of people in our workforces that are promoting and advocating for what they value in their own experience. I think that’s a crucial element.

To learn more about O.C. Tanner and how it has helped organisations around the world elevate their workplace cultures through employee recognition, and to read its 2024 Global Culture Report, visit octanner.com.